Just saying’…
Necessities Bags – A Great Cause
My wife Petra B and I did some volunteer work Wednesday evening. We helped to assemble “necessities bags”. We were slated to work three hours but so many people showed up to help that it only took about half that time, including having a snack. 😉 It was great to see women and men too, smiling and helping with such a sense of purpose. Most (if not all) of the people there had been touched in some way by the subjects of breast cancer and mastectomies, and of course want to help others going through this difficult time and process.
So what are necessities bags, you ask? Well, the short answer is that they are tote bags given to mastectomy patients and that they are full of supplies that will or may be useful during and after treatment. According to the National Necessities Bag web site, the bags are “reusable totes filled with wound care, comfort and practical items, which are given to women facing mastectomies, through their breast cancer nurses and surgeons and some breast cancer organizations. The bags are especially useful if given to the patient about a week before surgery.”
OK, so what’s in the bag? And why??
A Birthday Song For My Wife
And it goes like this:
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, Petra B
Happy birthday to you!
Nice song, huh? I didn’t write it. 😉 But I wanted to publicly wish her a great, great, wonderful day, today and everyday. I love her a lot.
As much as can be…
Change Has Come To America!
I never thought I would live to see this day. The first African-American president. That would be amazing enough, but he is a special man apart from that. He is intelligent, thoughtful, and inspirational with a positive vision of hope for America and everyone in it. As I watched the inauguration today I was enormously moved by the incredible number of people there, even in freezing temperatures. Everyone was smiling and happy and no one was worried about black or white, straight or gay, rich or poor, it was a teeming sea of humanity with a common thread: “we are one”. If anyone can bring this country back together and get us past the divisiveness, it may well be this man.
On a personal level, I like his politics and voted for him. Normally when I do that, the person loses. But not this time! But it’s not just me. He enters office with a huge approval rating and millions and millions of people willing to work with him and support him. In reality, his views are those of most of America, though some would try to call him liberal or extremist. But he stands for what most of America wants and that is why change has indeed come to America.
In my long life, this is one of the best things I have ever seen. After all the disappointments and cynicism, now I finally see a sense of hope after all these years. And the best thing about it, most of the coutry feels the same way! So, to President Obama (I love to write that), I say thank you for inspiring people and helping us to come together. The healing has begun and we are looking forward to this great journey and to restoring the greatness and pride in America, both here at home and around the world.
Did you watch his inaugural speech? Wasn’t it great? You can read it and watch it here.
Yes we can!
Gone But Not Forgotten – James A. Bolen
Good ol’ Uncle Jim. Well, technically, he wasn’t my uncle but he did care about me. He was my wife Petra‘s uncle and he passed away on December 27th in Illinois. Jim always told Petra how lucky she was to have me, and I won’t argue with that. But the bigger truth is that he and Petra were very lucky to have each other.
As you may or may not know, Petra is adopted and adoption records are sealed in all but five or so states so that people, even grown adults, can not know their family or history. That is a wrong that needs to be corrected. But that is another story. In our case, Petra managed to track down, with the help of her (adoptive) parents, information about her birth family. Her birth father is deceased and her birth mother sadly wants nothing to do with her, even after all these years. Petra has had some contact with a couple brothers and their families but none of that compares to the relationship that she had with her birth father’s brother, her beloved Uncle Jim.
A Mountain Of Rolling Stones!
Help! We’re up to our #$%!@ in Rolling Stone magazines! As you can see from the picture, even Prince can’t believe it!
Actually we have put an ad on Craigslist. We have over 600 issues for sale (as a lot, no single issues). And we’re throwing in 20 or so Spin magazines too. The catch? You gotta pic ’em up! But hopefully by the time you read this we’ll be well on our way to a sale. Those suckers can take up lot of room and we’ve got other, more important, junk to store.
Now as for that picture of Prince, what do you think he is doing? The headline says he is “on fire” but he doesn’t look like he is burning up. Hmm, maybe he is thinking about Petra … 😉
